


when the stars assume their patterns

by thimble



Series: Monsters of Our Own [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 19:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1720532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thimble/pseuds/thimble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He has no idea how anyone can stand Midorima, to be honest, but their compatibility score is near perfect. Midorima’s lethal shooting accuracy paired with Takao’s instinct and flexibility makes them one of the best Jaeger teams in the country, possibly the world.</p><p>But they’re not friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the stars assume their patterns

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted from tumblr.

They’re not friends.

Takao has heard all the blather people spout when they talk about drifting (“the deeper the bond, the better you fight”) and he can attest that it’s utter bullshit. You don’t have to  _like_  someone to fight with them, and sometimes he wonders how other pilots can still like their partners after finding out every dark and ugly thing about them. It doesn’t make sense.

He has no idea how anyone can stand Midorima, to be honest, but their compatibility score is near perfect. Midorima’s lethal shooting accuracy paired with Takao’s instinct and flexibility makes them one of the best Jaeger teams in the country, possibly the world.

But they’re not friends.

 

* * *

 

“Guess what I got you, Shin-chan.”

“Red bean soup,” Midorima says, deadpanned. He lifts his hand to his face then drops it just as quickly, a habit that refuses to be terminated. (He traded in his glasses for Lasik before he started piloting, but he still feels the ghost of them on his nose. That was years ago.) “In a can.”

Takao pulls a theatrical pout as he slumps next to Midorima, sliding the drink over. “I don’t know why you have to ruin my fun.”

“And why must you do this every time? My tastes haven’t changed.”

“They could have!”

“They wouldn’t. I’m not that fickle.”

“Which some people would take to mean as  _boring_ ,” Takao says, admittedly on the slim chance that it might get rise out of him. He knows better though. Midorima doesn’t take the bait but he does take the drink, sipping from it after he swallows his rice.

“Thank you,” Midorima says, consistent in his politeness and his sincerity. Takao gives him a thumbs-up, keeping his thoughts to himself.

_I just like showing off that I can get along with you, when no one else can._

 

* * *

 

His first memory of Midorima was from a press conference on TV when he is seventeen. The Generation of Miracles – which was what the media dubbed their six-man, three-Jaeger team – had done a lot of interviews before, usually with Akashi Seijuro talking on their behalf. But that time all of them were present, and they all got a chance to speak despite their awkwardness.

“Why did you decide to become a pilot when you’re still so young?” A reporter posed, and one by one they all gave their answer, but it was Midorima Shintaro’s that stuck with Takao even after Kaasan changed the channel.

_I fight for the public. That is all._

He had no right to be thinking like that while being the same age as Takao. It should’ve been unheard of, though sixteen year old pilots were unheard of too before the Miracles showed up. It was hard not to be intrigued. In under a week Takao had a stack of magazines with coverage of them strewn about his bed, and no blog or forum went unread.

Most of the articles didn’t even mention Kaiju, being more concerned with their love lives or their morning routines. It’s totally useless and totally addictive; sometimes he flips a magazine open when he’s supposed to be studying for exams. Midorima’s answers are his favorite, because aside from that time in the press conference, they were all so bizarre.

_Q: What’s one thing you can’t do without?_

_A: My lucky item for the day, according to Oha Asa’s advice._

(“You weirdo,” Takao found himself thinking as he stared at a picture of Midorima’s stern face, his unusual hair. “I’m gonna be just like you.”)

 

* * *

 

The Miracles’ fallout took place six months before Takao finished the program in what was dubbed the Teiko Incident. The public weren’t told the details, but those inside the Academy knew a little more; Akashi retired from the cockpit and the team had lost their compatibility with each other. Whatever happened must have been severe and irreversible to trigger such drastic results, but finding out wasn’t Takao’s priority. All it meant for him was that there were suddenly available slots in the teams, taking him one step closer to getting into a Jaeger.

That said, he still laughed for what felt like hours after the phone call that informed him, “your sync scores lined up with Midorima Shintaro’s. Report to the Shatterdome immediately.”

 

* * *

 

Midorima was every bit as eccentric in person as Takao thought he’d be, though he was other things too; there was no trace of egoism in him when Takao faced him on the mat, just an unwavering confidence in his abilities. The precision of his blows ensured that he landed one on Takao every time, though he is not as quick to evade Takao’s retaliations, so their points were even when the match ended.

Takao couldn’t stop grinning if he tried, even when he took Midorima’s offered hand to help him get up from the floor.

“Looks like we’re drift compatible, Shin-chan,” he said, the nickname rolling off his tongue with an easy familiarity that he _knew_  was irritating, based on the crease it left on Midorima’s brow.

“What did you call me?”

He clapped Midorima’s shoulder and threw in a wink for good measure. “You heard me right, partner.” And maybe it was a little immature to do this sort of subtle power play, but he needed to let Midorima know – he wasn’t going to bow out of this, or bow  _down_ to him, just because of his status.

(Midorima was bound to see it firsthand anyway when they make the link, but it didn’t hurt to give him a clue.)

 

* * *

 

They’re handed their residence assignments the day after they tested their connection in the Drift. Takao claimed the top bunk, earning no reaction from Midorima except a scoff, like it was so pedestrian to care about such things. He did tell Takao that he expected him to keep his side of the room clean at all times, and that he should expect likewise from Midorima.

Over time he found out that Midorima  _still_  collected lucky items religiously, and that he preferred long periods in the bath over quick showers. He rose early in the morning to train, which was fine, because Takao did as well. He saw the disdainful curl of Midorima’s lip every time he flipped channels and came across Kise Ryota on a talk show, and he’d mistake it for legitimate derision if he hadn’t been in Midorima’s head and glimpsed what truly happened between the six of them. It was strange, sure, to see Kise on TV, or pass by Marshall Akashi in the hallway, or even hear about Murasakibara Atsushi’s famed explosive power when Takao felt like he  _knew_  them, because drifting with someone new was kind of like drifting with their previous partners too.

It was creepy, though Midorima only huffed at him when he said so; of course, knowing Midorima’s full history meant that Midorima also knew his own.

So they ate and trained at the same times, and slept in the same room. They shared the same brain on more than one occasion, and Takao helped him obtain lucky items so often that it could’ve passed off as a team building activity.

But they weren’t friends.

 

* * *

 

An imaginary interaction rendered unnecessary by the Drift:

“Why do you tape your fingers, Shin-chan?”

“To keep them protected, fool.”

“For what?”

“To preserve the accuracy of my aim, my hands must remain unharmed.”

“It’s not your  _actual_  hands you’re using to fight.”

Midorima shakes his head, as if Takao is too stupid to comprehend. Takao doesn’t take offense. He only smirks and tosses Midorima a spare roll of bandages, after which he picks up his bo staff and waits for Midorima to finish so they can start their practice match.

 

* * *

 

Takao is well-aware that Midorima isn’t really illogical enough to trust horoscopes above all else; he just believes in doing everything he can to emerge victorious. He takes every precaution to not only win battles but to come back safe, with minimal scrapings on their Jaeger. He isn’t superstitious, not to his core, but he’d rather not tempt fate.

So it’s a little heartrending when they’re woken up by the alarm that alerted them to a Kaiju attack and Midorima’s face  _falls_  as he realizes that he has absolutely no time to procure the lucky item for the day. The expression stays with him all the way to the briefing, and doesn’t budge as they’re suited up. Right before they enter the Drift, Takao finds the need to voice it aloud, just this once.

“We’re gonna be fine.”

“I know that,” Midorima snaps, soft and without the usual acidity, and the neural handshake begins.

 

* * *

 

The assault comes up on their blind spot, and they aren’t fast enough to turn around, much less dodge it. It just so happened to be on Takao’s side, and when the Kaiju pierces through the cockpit it rips out a huge chunk of their darling Jaeger, taking Takao with it. He falls into the water and it’s a miracle that he wasn’t crushed by any metal or debris.

He’s still in his suit and he inevitably sinks like a stone; it’s impossible to escape, impossible to swim to the surface because it’s so cold and everything is so heavy and he must be bleeding, somewhere, and he surprises himself by  _hoping_ that Midorima will be okay. Piloting by oneself is notoriously deadly, and Midorima still had an entire city to save.

When Takao finally blacks out, it’s to the sensation of being cradled in a giant metal palm.

 

* * *

 

Midorima gets yelled at by the higher-ups for what he did — Takao even heard of a private meeting with Marshal Akashi that he didn’t want to know the details of — but in the end he still kept Japan safe and no one should’ve had any complaints. The damage their Jaeger endured was terrible but not permanent, and she’d be running again after some extensive repairs.

Midorima also visits him every day in the medical ward, where he was confined until the doctors were certain he’s going to be fine. Takao doesn’t struggle against it, though his injuries only consisted of a broken arm and a concussion. It could’ve been a lot worse.

(But wasn’t, thanks to Midorima.)

And he has to ask, because he doesn’t have any good guesses and it’ll be a while until he has the advantage of finding out through the Drift, “why’d you do it?”

_Why did you rescue me? You only fought for the public, didn’t you?_

_Why did you endanger the mission?_

_Why did you put me above saving the world?_

Midorima doesn’t look at him when he replies, keeping his gaze fixed on the carved hawk toy he held that was Cancer’s lucky item of the day. “Because we’re friends, fool.”

And Takao laughs, because he really should’ve seen it coming.

(Shin-chan is callously blunt, overly serious, and downright weird, often difficult to get along with, but he isn’t wrong.)

**Author's Note:**

> the other miracles will be explored in later installments. thank you for reading!


End file.
